Tonight’s main event carried some high stakes, as Universal Champion Roman Reigns is set to give Daniel Bryan one last shot at the Championship, but there’s a huge catch. Reigns told Bryan that if he loses he doesn’t want to see him around any longer, but not just around the locker room, on SmackDown. Bryan would be barred from the blue brand, and despite the risk he still accepted. Tonight was the night to put up or shut up, and by match’s end, unfortunately, it was Bryan having to come to terms with his exit from SmackDown.
Bryan was pretty pumped when he hit the ring, and after Reigns debuted his new music on his way to the ring, both stars wasted no time in charging at each other. The stars traded flurries of offense and had the momentum several times throughout the match, which was given quite a bit of time.
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Bryan almost had Reigns down for the count several times, but Reigns was always able to evade the pin, whether by getting his foot to the rope or just mustering one last gasp for a kickout. Reigns then almost locked in the guillotine but Bryan got out and then went to work on Reigns’ right arm, and he punished Reigns before locking in the YES Lock.
Reigns crawled to the ropes but Bryan pulled his arm back and then hit the YES Lock once again. Reigns powered out and hit Bryan with punches and forearms before lifting him up and hitting him with a Power Bomb.
Reigns hit Bryan with more punches before lifting him up again and hitting another Power Bomb. He loomed over Bryan and the two locked up, followed by Reigns locking in the Guillotine. He had it locked in snug and Bryan faded without tapping, giving Reigns the win and banishing Bryan from SmackDown.
Reigns wasn’t done though, and he brought chairs into the ring and used them on Bryan, but was interrupted by Cesaro, who was ready to defend his friend. He attacked Reigns and stopped the attack but was hit from behind by Jey Uso, who held him at bay as Reigns stood tall over Bryan as the show ended.
You can find the official description for tonight’s SmackDown below.
“Roman Reigns is set to go to war with Daniel Bryan in a Universal Championship match and, if The Head of the Table wins, The Leader of the “Yes!” Movement will be barred from SmackDown. Plus, Apollo Crews will clash with Big E in a highly-anticipated Intercontinental Title rematch. Don’t miss back-to-back title matchups, tonight at 8/7 C on FOX!”
Here’s the full card for tonight’s episode:
Roman Reigns vs Daniel Bryan in Universal Title Match
Apollo Crews vs Big E in Intercontinental Championship Match
What have you thought of tonight’s SmackDown? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things WWE with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
